Today was their first time delivering goods. Shopkeeper Tang personally brought them with a helper, each item weighing ten pounds. On the scale, some were a pound or two over. Xu Zhichun laughed and said: “Shopkeeper Tang counts them as ten pounds and the extra is a gift from us.”
A grand restaurant doesn’t lack this bit of money, but who doesn’t love generous words?
Shopkeeper Tang wasn’t pretentious, and said with a cheerful smile: “Alright, thanks to fortune we got a pound or two extra. How long will you be selling at the market before leaving? If sales go well, I’ll send someone to tell how much to bring tomorrow.”
Xu Zhichun laughed and said: “We’ll leave once we’ve sold everything, though I don’t know exactly when. How about we stop by again before heading home —would that work for you?”
Shopkeeper Tang was even more pleased, nodding: “That’s even better.”
Each item weighed ten pounds, coming to exactly five hundred and thirty coins.
Before even setting up the stall, they had already pocketed five hundred and thirty coins, and everyone was delighted.
Today they took the same spot as yesterday and started arranging their stall.
As soon as they finished setting up, business came to them.
Every day it’s the same few dishes—who wouldn’t get tired of them? Something fresh, cheap, and practical is a welcome change. Yesterday someone bought a piece to try, found the taste quite good, and today ran into it again—of course they wanted more. And those who didn’t see it yesterday came across it today.
“Give me two pieces of gray tofu!”
“I’ll take two pieces as well. I didn’t get any gray tofu shreds yesterday, so give me half a pound too.”
“I want one pound of gray tofu shreds and four pieces of gray tofu.”
“What are you selling here? How do you eat it? Is it tasty?”
“Looks good, I’ll take two pieces to try as well.”
The three women responded warmly with their voices, their hands never stopping, smiling as they handed out goods and collected money, busy and full of joy.
Liang Mingliang also stood smiling behind the three women, acting as a mascot to steady the scene, while keeping watch in case anyone tried sneaky tricks.
The most popular was still the snowy‑white, attractive konjac shreds; about twenty pounds were quickly sold out.
There were about seventy pounds of konjac tofu, and nearly half of it was sold.
Ice jelly was the new product, and Xu Zhichun focused on selling it today.
She had specially prepared half a small clay jar of brown sugar water at home. When selling, she scooped the crushed, prepared ice jelly into a small bowl and set it on the stall. The crystal‑clear jelly, tinted by the brown sugar water, gleamed with a reddish glow, pleasing to the eye.
The beautiful ice jelly quickly caught the customers’ attention.
“Lady Xu, what’s this?”
Xu Zhichun explained: “This is called ice jelly. It’s not a dish, but a snack. I prepared this one to show everyone—once you buy it, you can take it home, add brown sugar water, and eat it right away. It’s smooth, tender, and refreshing, really delicious. You all know Lotus Restaurant, right? Shopkeeper Tang bought ten pounds of it.”
“If you’ve brought a clean jar or bowl, you can have a free taste. I didn’t make much today, so it’s just one bite to sample the flavor. If you like it, then buy—three copper coins for half a bowl, five copper coins for a full bowl.”
In ancient times, for soy sauce, vinegar, other condiments, or pickled vegetables, there were no plastic bags or glass bottles, so each household had to bring its own container to buy them.
Even when buying a piece of soft tofu or other cooked food, using a bowl was better than wrapping it in leaves.
So when the women in town went shopping for vegetables, if they planned to buy such items that day, they would place an empty bowl or a small lidded clay jar in their basket.
As soon as they heard that the shopkeeper of Lotus Restaurant had bought ten pounds at once, everyone immediately became interested.
As soon as Xu Zhichun mentioned free tasting, an old lady immediately pulled out the little jar she had brought for soy sauce and handed it over: “Let me try!”
“Alright!”
Xu Zhichun smiled as she scooped half a ladle into the little jar: “Madam, have a taste. If you like it, buy more—three coins for half a bowl, five coins for a full bowl.”
The old lady was clearly straightforward. She tilted back her neck and swallowed it down in one gulp. Her eyes lit up: “Not bad, not bad, this is delicious. My grandchildren will surely love it—give me some more.”
Xu Zhichun, face like a spring breeze, smiled as she refused: “Madam, I didn’t make much. Each person can only taste one bite, I’m truly sorry.”
Everyone laughed, and the old lady laughed too. Smiling, she said: “Alright, alright, then give me a bowl! At home I just add brown sugar water and it’s ready to eat, right?”
Everyone likes to take advantage of a bargain, but most people are decent—they’re not shameless or greedy.
“That’s right, Madam! At home, just crush the ice jelly, stir it with brown sugar water, and it’s ready to eat. I’ll pack you a full big bowl.”
“Ah!” The old lady was very happy and satisfied.
Those with bowls or little jars in their baskets surged forward, all saying they wanted a taste. Whether they bought or not was another matter—tasting cost nothing.
Xu Zhichun smiled as she ladled out portions one by one.
A woman with a child received some and handed it to the child beside her to taste. Xu Zhichun saw this, smiled, and called out “Sister!” beckoning her forward, then gave her another half ladle: “Each person can taste once for free—children count too.”
The woman was both surprised and delighted: “Thank you, Lady Xu!”
Seeing this, others with children also led them forward so they could get an extra taste.
With or without children, everyone joined in praising.
“The three ladies handle things with such straightforwardness and generosity!”
“Exactly! I love buying from people like this—they won’t cheat you.”
“That’s right, me too.”
Before long, the free samples were gone, and the ice jelly was sold out.
Those who came later felt regretful—missing both the taste and the chance to buy left them a bit unwilling. Spotting gray tofu still for sale, they thought, well then, let’s just buy two pieces to take home and try.
Today they brought much more konjac tofu and konjac shreds than yesterday, yet it sold out even faster.
When closing the stall, the four of them were a little stunned.
Zeng Xiaoyan laughed and said: “We made so much money again today!”
Aunt Zhu’er was delighted too: “Exactly! At this rate, we’ll really get rich! Let’s hurry back and dig konjac, pick golden lantern fruit!”
Xu Zhichun laughed and said: “No need to rush—we’re getting more skilled, we’ll have time. It’s still early, so why not stroll around and buy a few things? I want to get some jars and pots to store things, then cut two pounds of meat to render lard, so I can cook something good to nourish my Mingxuan. I also want to buy soy sauce, salt, and a few pounds of millet. What about you?”
Zeng Xiaoyan raised both hands in agreement: “Yes, yes, I also want to go to Guifang Zhai to buy pastries, and take a look at other things. I’ll cut two or three pounds of meat to take home as well.”
Auntie Zhu’er laughed and said: “Then I’ll buy some meat too—my lard is running low. I’ll also check for needles and thread.”
Liang Mingliang, of course, had no objections. He took the ox cart and drove it, and when they arrived, the three women got down to shop.
There are many rats in the countryside, and houses can’t keep them out. Food at home must be stored in lidded wooden barrels or covered jars, otherwise the rats would ruin it.
Xu Zhichun didn’t have many jars at home, so she planned to buy two or three of each size—ten or so in total—to bring back. Then dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots, millet, lantern fruit seeds, and so on could all be stored properly.
By the way, let’s order a big iron pot today—it’ll make cooking konjac tofu easier in the future.
These days ironware is strictly regulated. Iron pots aren’t cheap, big ones even more expensive—but they must be bought, there’s no other way.
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